A Little Help to Fight the Right
When Congress has been challenged on legislation that's moved the country forward, the courts have mostly upheld those laws. Over time, they've overturned bad laws and reversed bad decisions. Marbury v. Madison in 1803 affirmed the court's right to overturn unconstitutional laws.
Lawrence v. Texas overturned Bowers v. Hardwick which had made consensual gay sex, even in the privacy of one's own home, illegal. The Lawrence decision paves the way for marriage equality. The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was overturned by Loving v. Virginia, which made it illegal for interracial couples to get married elsewhere and settle in that state.
When Lily Ledbetter was told by the Supreme Court she couldn't sue for equal pay because the statute of limitations had run out, Congress got to work and gave women more leeway to sue employers who deny them equality.
Other liberal decisions focus on protecting individual rights and include things like an indigent's right to counsel, the right to remain silent when arrested, and the right not to have your home invaded by authorities if anyone in the residence objects. The state can't use illegally obtained evidence against you, and can't put a GPS device on your car to track your movements without a warrant.
The landmark Brown v. Board of Education ended school desegregation.
Griswold v. Connecticut protects our right to privacy, made birth control legal, and led to legalizing abortion in Roe v. Wade.
Larry Flynt's right to mock Jerry Falwell and Joey Johnson's right to burn the flag were upheld, proving the First Amendment is there to protect even the most reprehensible speech.
In Boumediene v. Bush it was determined that detainees get constitutional protection, even if they're not on U.S. soil, such as at Guantanamo Bay.
Over time, as Congress legislates progress, the judicial branch tends to affirm it.
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